CHOP HER UP AND I DON'T CARE Redux: TOP 10 RAMONES MOVIE MASHUPS

The RAMONES loved watching movies. Not only does JOHNNY list his favorite flicks by genre in his autobiography, he also notes his favorite film books and Top Ten ELVIS pictures-- which puts him safely beyond the pale into the orbit of genuine fanatic. The cinema was a significant component of their underlying trash aesthetic, and unsurprisingly they frequently referenced works they admired into their lyrics. In the MTV age their promo clips were unmistakably touched by the flavour of their moviegoing obsessions, with distinct nods in style and clearcut homage details.

In the digital internet age this predictably led to the next step of the public marrying their favourite tracks to homemade video mashups utilizing famous movies. The visual and conceptual strengths of the songs are frequently merged onto the familiar film footage with startling success-- that most of the movies employed fall directly from the group's most beloved realms (cult flicks and b-grade horror flicks) helps considerably. Still, a few curveballs pan out exceedingly well, as our sampling below will bear out...

1. IGNORANCE IS BLISS
The apocalyptic, paranoid, late period thrasher is effectively applied to JOHN CARPENTER's dystopian premonition THEY LIVE.

2. I WANNA BE SEDATED
The brilliant clip combining WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY with THE SHINING has unfortunately been removed from youtube, but we can still get an impressive dose of KUBRICK insanity with this surprisingly effective utilization of another of his classics, DR. STRANGELOVE (OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB).

4. BEAT ON THE BRAT
This stunner fuses the anti-rugrat anthem to a trio of violent bat attacks: Two from the gangster genre (THE UNTOUCHABLES & A BRONX TALE), but then an amazing segue into the Baseball Furies battle from the New York gang thriller THE WARRIORS.

5. CHAINSAW
Of course who couldn't see this one coming from a mile away, but it's genuinely impressive how well it captures the menace of TOBE HOOPER's maniacal bedrock effort in such a short stretch of time.

9. PET SEMATARY
Practically unavoidable, but it is rather puzzling how little of this picture's disturbing footage made it into the official video. That oversight is finally rectified here- and the straight match to the theatrical trailer works eerily well.

10. MERRY XMAS (I DON'T WANNA FIGHT TONIGHT)
One of the program's most brilliant ideas, this cautionary Yuletide plea for calm is commingled with a dazzling montage of Doomed Couples from the Cinema (mostly drawn from the horror domain). A few in here escape my familiarity-- feel free to message me a full list if you can identify them all!

BONUS!!
One more goodie for you. There's only a few moments of the WWII era drama TOMORROW THE WORLD online currently, but likelihood points to this being a probable inspiration for DEEDEE's trademark masterpiece TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD. (Certainly the German-raised bass player would have found resonance in the potboiler's melodramatic portrayal of an American family struggling to cope with the foreign houseguest youth hiding an explosive, secret past.) Hopefully someone uploads the entire feature soon...

HEY! HO! You! The amazing illustration leading off this piece was drawn by the supremely talented SAMY THE KAY, whose supercool work often references badass musicians (including, often THE RAMONES). Follow these links to more of his superb concoctions. Thank you for granting me permission, Samy!

2 comments:

These are all great, watch them all.Learn all about the Ramones in the book; “ON THE ROAD WITH THE RAMONES”.Throughout the remarkable twenty-two-year career of the Ramones the seminal punk rock band, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers, Recording Academy Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners and inductees into The Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, Monte A. Melnick saw it all. He was the band’s tour manager from their 1974 CBGB debut to their final show in 1996. Now, in this NEW UPDATED EDITION he tells his story. Full of insider perspectives and exclusive interviews and packed with over 250 personal color photos and images; this is a must-have for all fans of the Ramones.

Knowing that S. E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" was originally published in 1967-1968, and Dee Dee was know for reading *anything* he could get his hands on, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the song "Outsider" was in some way connected to S. E. Hinton's "The Outsiders."